Hurt by the shortage of manpower, a Montreal restaurateur cries from the heart and calls on the public to be lenient towards employees who do not speak French well.
“It’s not for lack of will: me too, it insults me when I’m not served directly in French. But with the lack of employees, that’s it or we have to close our restaurant. »
Johana (fictitious name) has owned a restaurant in Montreal for ten years. Well established in her neighborhood, she has a regular clientele that she estimates to be nearly 75% English-speaking. Among its employees, some have just arrived in Quebec and do not speak French.
If I had to have employees who master French perfectly, I could only open 20 hours a week instead of 60.
Johanna
The French-speaking entrepreneur who works herself six and a half days a week says she lives in fear of receiving bad reviews online, a negative post on social networks or even a complaint to the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF ), which opened a record number of cases this year.
The labor shortage predates the pandemic, she says. “Three years ago, we had the problem of people who did not show up for their interview or on their first day. Today, we are elsewhere: there is absolutely no one applying. »
Johana says she tested offering $21 an hour for a cashier position. “I didn’t receive any applications because it was a position where you had to work on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s at this point,” says the entrepreneur.
Faced with the lack of employees, the restaurateur hires travelers passing through Montreal. “They have experience in the restaurant and hotel industry, they are hardworking. They are perfect, but they don’t speak French. »
In his restaurant, unilingual English-speaking employees prepare deliveries and take care of the cash when the customer is English-speaking. When a French-speaking customer arrives, the employee will quickly look for a French-speaking colleague.
“Our fear is that a French-speaking client will arrive when the French-speaking employee is behind. It may take just 30 seconds, but we’re afraid it will shock. »
It happened this fall, when a client began to ask many questions to an English-speaking employee who repeated to her in French that he did not speak French and that his French-speaking colleague was arriving shortly.
“The client skipped her mark. She was yelling at my employee,” Johana says.
Busting Myths
At the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), we note that, contrary to the idea often conveyed, the OQLF is not there to punish merchants, impose fines on them, even less push them to close.
“Our goal is not to be coercive: it’s to find solutions,” explains Chantal Bouchard, spokesperson for the OQLF.
The Charter of the French language stipulates that companies must offer service in French at all times.
A person who believes that their language rights have not been respected can file a complaint. To check whether a complaint is justified, an inspector intervenes, says Mr.me Bouchard.
“Then, if the complaint is founded, a francization advisor will contact the company to try to find ways to get there. We are in flexibility, in collaboration, in the search for solutions. »
In 99% of cases, the OQLF and the company manage to find solutions, says Ms.me Bouchard. In the rare cases where there is no cooperation from the companies, the file is entrusted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), who will have to decide whether or not to lay charges.
For the time being, Johana tries to be there as much as possible to ensure that everything goes well in her restaurant. “People have to understand that we love French, that we want to live in French, that employees make an effort to learn and speak French. But the lack of personnel, it will not be resolved in a few months. It’s here for good. »
Young people less concerned about service in French
Among Quebecers aged 18 to 34, the youngest in the group seem to consider it less important to be served in French in stores than the oldest in the same group. A study by the Office québécois de la langue française on the use of languages by Quebecers aged 18 to 34, published on Friday, shows this trend, both among Francophones and allophones aged 18 to 34. As for Anglophones, 40% said they preferred to be served in English and 40% said they had no language preference. The Office points out that under the Charter of the French language, companies are required to respect the right of consumers to receive service in French. The OQLF points out that during the 2021-2022 fiscal year, it received 6,292 complaints. Complaints about language of service accounted for 31% of the total.
The Canadian Press
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- 6292
- Number of complaints concerning possible violations of the Charter of the French language received in 2021-2022 by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), the highest number for 10 years.
SOURCE: Office québécois de la langue française
- 31%
- Percentage of complaints concerning language of service, the most frequent reason. Next come websites (25%) and public display (16%).
SOURCE: Office québécois de la langue française